Guns become a way of life for many in rural Colorado

By Kurtis Lee, Denver Post

Posted:
03/04/2013 12:42:14 PM MST

OTERO COUNTY — Mac Holder takes a seat on the bench of a weathered wooden shooting table roughly 50 yards in front of a silver beer can impaled upright by a stake. Here at the firing range of his family's pheasant and quail ranch on the outskirts of Rocky Ford, dozens of spent shotgun shells litter the parched ground around him. But on this recent afternoon, in his grip is a black Rock River AR-15 outfitted with a 30-round ammunition magazine.

Holder pulls back and releases the charging handle, pushing a round into the chamber. He then tucks the butt of the semiautomatic gun into his left shoulder and leans forward, staring down the scope mounted on top. Nine ear-splitting shots pierce the gentle breeze.

"It's a fun gun. It has low recoil. If you just like to shoot for practice, it's a great gun," says Holder, 28, after firing the weapon. "I've had it for nine years, keep it locked up and never had any problems with it."

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Far from the gold dome of the state Capitol, and the state's more populated Front Range, generations of Colorado families like Holder's have grown up with firearms.

Whether for hunting, trapshooting or staving off troublesome packs of coyotes, knowing how to handle a gun — including the widely popular AR-15 rifle — from a young age can be an essential part of life in rural parts of the state.

It's a tradition that transcends politics, gender and ethnicity. And as Democratic lawmakers — who control both legislative chambers and the governor's office — work toward passing some of the strictest gun laws in the Mountain West, it's a tradition many in rural Colorado feel is threatened.

County Sheriffs of Colorado, most of whom are from rural areas, have expressed concern about gun-control measures now under the dome, calling the proposals a gut-level reaction to a December mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. They especially oppose the magazine limit.

Others argue that new gun laws are an egregious infringement on Second Amendment rights.

"Any gun is what you do with it. ... People shouldn't fear guns. Yeah, they're lethal weapons. I've never had to use one to protect myself, and I never hope to have to," said Holder, a Republican who is a former mayor of Rocky Ford. "If you have a car, you don't want people placing stipulations on every little thing that has to do with the car."

Bill "filled with holes"

Travel west from here in the Arkansas Valley along Colorado 10 through the desert plains to U.S. 160 that winds up La Veta Pass and down into the San Luis Valley, and you'll find comments similar to Holder's are readily heard.

"We don't see much violent crime down here," said Erin Jerant, who has owned and lived in a flat above her small Hollowpoint Gun Shop in Walsenburg since 1989.

Jerant knows many of the customers who travel to her business, which carries supplies from trout bait to maps, guidebooks and extended ammunition magazines.

"And what I do know is that everyone who has a gun isn't — thankfully — a James Holmes, or has any intention of killing people," she said, referring to the man who stands accused of opening fire on a crowded Aurora movie theater last July. "And, you know, that's why all this talk of guns is going on. ... It's a few bad apples that caused an uproar."

Jerant, a Democrat on the City Council, owns several guns and said the most popular weapon she sells is a .22-caliber rifle used for small-game hunting. At times last year, though, she estimates selling about one AR-15 each week.

"I'd sell more if I could get them in stock. They're hard to come by these days," Jerant said.

The idea that under proposed legislation by state Sen. John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, she could be held liable for any violence that occurs with guns she sells is illogical, Jerant said.

"Why not just come out with an all-out ban? If I sell one legally, why would I be responsible? It's 'wishy' legislation filled with holes," Jerant said.

Morse likened the semiautomatic weapons that she and others around the state sell to poison.

"And when it's released into the public stream, she (Jerant) and all the others supplying these deadly weapons need to be prepared to take full responsibility for them if something were to happen," Morse said.

No impact on hunting

At almost any time of year, gunfire can be heard in the woods and fields of Colorado's game lands.

According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the state has more than 126,000 residential hunters and hundreds of thousands more who travel to the state each year to hunt.

Those hunters already must abide by state rules and regulations that prohibit semiautomatic rifles holding more than six rounds in a magazine and chamber combined.

Fully automatic rifles also are prohibited.

"None of the bills that are proposed would have any impact on hunting in Colorado," said Randy Hampton, a spokesman for the division.

That's reassuring to Carlton Thomas, a gunsmith who since 1985 has owned a store in Monte Vista — about 20 miles northwest of Alamosa in the San Luis Valley.

"Most people in this community own a gun," Thomas said. "They might not carry it, but they've got it stashed somewhere, and it comes out for hunting season or target practice."

Thomas said over the years he has seen the community evolve from strictly hunters to people who revel in sport shooting.

"These days, the semiautomatics are selling because folks are shooting reactionary targets. ... Shooting at metal and targets that look like zombies are big now," Thomas said. "Outside of predator hunting and big-game hunting, action shooting is what's popular on the ranges here."

Rhonda Glover is among those who grew up target shooting. She remembers hunting rabbits with her siblings in the San Luis Valley using single-action rifles.

"It's a culture down here," said Glover, who owns a coffee shop off the main street in Monte Vista. "Growing up, it was a way of life for my family to get meat."

Though she's not a concealed-carry owner, Glover said she has hired employees with concealed-carry permits.

"Being around guns has never been something that's bothered me," Glover said.

Political implications

Despite polls that show most Coloradans favor tougher gun laws in the wake of several mass shootings last year, the political implications of gun legislation play a large role out here.

State Rep. Mike McLachlan, a rural Democrat from Durango, who proposed an amendment that increased the ban on ammunition magazines from a limit of 10 to 15 rounds, nevertheless has been assailed by constituents for supporting gun legislation.

Some are planning a recall petition of the freshman lawmaker, who also voted in favor of measures that call for universal background checks and ban concealed weapons on college campuses.

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And The Durango Herald for several days last week ran a banner ad on its website from a nonprofit group called Colorado Citizens Protecting Our Constitution that linked McLachlan to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is lobbying for tougher gun control in the state.

"Unfortunately, Billionaire Bloomberg and his cronies bought our State Representative Mike McLachlan," read one those ads.

Meanwhile state Rep. Ed Vigil, a Democrat whose district spans the San Luis Valley, has bucked his party and opposed new gun-control measures.

"He's earned a lot of respect around here by those votes," said Thomas, who is a constituent of Vigil's.

The state senator representing the San Luis Valley is Republican and is expected to vote against Democratic guns bills that passed through the House last month and scheduled to be heard in the Senate this week.

"A lot of eyes are on what people are doing up in Denver," said Holder, who is represented by Republican state Rep. Clarice Navarro-Ratzlaff, a staunch opponent to tougher laws. "I'm a Republican, but even Democrats down here are offering her (Navarro-Ratzlaff) praise for standing up for the Second Amendment."

Gun debate spurs sales

For some in rural Colorado, like Thomas and Jerant who own gun shops, the gun debate has bolstered business.

"For our local community, we have a hard time getting enough ammunition and firearms," Thomas said, noting he is doing a lot of business because customers are afraid they will be unable to buy detachable magazines of more than 15 rounds.

"And they want their piece of the pie now, since these laws will be grand- fathered in," Thomas said.

Jerant said she expects the stricter gun laws to pass given Democrats have control of both chambers at the state Capitol.

"I'm a law-abiding citizen, and I'll obey the new gun laws," she said before pointing toward a rack of magazines on a nearby shelf that hold 17 to 30 rounds of ammunition.

"But I know by the time those laws come to be, all of these will be sold and out in the public. I will have made my money. It's just unfortunate it will have to be this way."

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